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Antianxiety Medicines for Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Topic Overview

Antianxiety agents (benzodiazepines) are used to treat
anxiety and panic disorder. For some people, these medicines may be appropriate
for occasional, short-term use to help relieve anxiety that is making the symptoms of
irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) worse. These medicines may not be as
useful for long-term use, because they may interact with other drugs and they
may be habit-forming.

Here are some examples of antianxiety
medicines. Your doctor may give you one that is not in this list.

Alprazolam (such as Xanax)

Clonazepam
(Klonopin)

Diazepam (such as Valium)

Lorazepam (such as Ativan)

The U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning on clonazepam (Klonopin) and the
risk of suicide and suicidal thoughts. The FDA does not recommend that people
stop using this medicine. Instead, people who take clonazepam should be watched
closely for
warning signs of suicide. People who take clonazepam
and who are worried about this side effect should talk to a doctor.

See Drug Reference for a full list of side effects. (Drug Reference is
not available in all systems.)

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